A method and apparatus for forming a rib on a section of plastic film utilizes a roll having a groove, extrudes molten polymer into the groove, and places the section of plastic film in contact with the molten polymer in the groove. The molten polymer in the groove is allowed to cool below the melting point thereof while the section of plastic film is in contact with the polymer to cause bonding therebetween and thereby form the rib.
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1. An apparatus for forming a rib on a section of plastic film, comprising:
a roll having a groove;
an extrusion die for extruding molten polymer into the groove; and
a positioning system comprising a second roll made of a deformable material, wherein the second roll directs the plastic film toward the first-named roll, and wherein the positioning system places the section of plastic film in contact with the molten polymer in the groove such that the molten polymer in the groove is allowed to cool below the melting point thereof while the section of plastic film is in contact with the polymer to cause bonding therebetween and thereby forming the rib.
6. An apparatus for forming a rib on a section of plastic film, comprising:
a roll having a groove;
an extrusion die for extruding molten polymer into the groove; and
a positioning system that places the section of plastic film in contact with the molten polymer in the groove such that the molten polymer in the groove is allowed to cool below the melting point thereof while the section of plastic film is in contact with the polymer to cause bonding therebetween and thereby forming the rib,
wherein the section of plastic film carries a closure element and wherein the roll includes a groove that receives the closure element when the section of plastic film is in contact with the polymer.
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The present invention relates to thermoplastic storage bags, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for producing guide ribs for reclosable thermoplastic storage bags.
Thermoplastic storage bags having reclosable fasteners have been in wide use to store various items. One type of bag includes interengagable male and female closure elements or profiles that may be closed by pinching the elements together at one end thereof between a user's finger and thumb and sliding the user's opposed finger and thumb along the elements toward another end of the bag. One difficulty faced by a user of such a bag results from misalignment of the male and female closure elements of the bag as the user is attempting to seal the bag. Often, such misalignment prevents full closure of the bag and typically results in wasted effort and frustration by the user.
Attempts have been made over the years to provide a structure that facilitates closing of a bag by a user. An example of such a structure comprises a guide rib disposed on each side of the closure elements and extending parallel thereto. The guide rib(s) guide the user's finger and thumb as the user is attempting to close the bag so that the incidence of closure element misalignment is minimized.
Kamp U.S. Pat. No. 4,306,924 discloses an apparatus for producing a plastic container having occludable closure strips. The closure strips are supplied from a supply source and fed to a control roll, wherein the control roll in turn feeds the closure strips to an optional heating means that preheats a base portion of the closure strips. The closure strips are then transferred to a rotating casting cylinder having a pair of spaced apart circumferential grooves. The closure profiles are disposed in the grooves of the casting cylinder as the casting cylinder rotates and plastic film is extruded onto the casting cylinder to produce a plastic film with integral closure profiles.
Zieke et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,789 discloses a method and apparatus for applying a profile and adjacent ribs to a traveling film web. The method comprises the steps of drawing a web of bag film over idler rolls into a forming and joining station. The forming and joining station includes a hopper for receiving plastic material, a body with heating means for heating and melting the plastic material and a screw auger for advancing the molten plastic material to a die block. The method further comprises the steps of applying a base member to the film by means of a polytetrafluorethylene-coated lay-on roller and extruding a male profile member, a first rib member and a second rib member as separate extrudates on a bag film web.
Geiger et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,755,248 discloses a method and apparatus for producing a reclosable bag film. The method comprises the steps of drawing a film web from a die block around a driven rotatable casting roll and passing the film web over idler rolls to a closure member extrusion and joining station. A female profile is extruded from a first extruder and a male profile is extruded from a second extruder onto the film web as the film web passes around an idler roll at the station. The method further comprises the step of passing the film web and profiles around a chilled casting roll to cool the film web and profile.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a method of forming a rib on a section of plastic film includes the steps of providing a roll having a groove, extruding molten polymer into the groove, and placing the section of plastic film in contact with the molten polymer in the groove. The molten polymer in the groove is allowed to cool below the melting point thereof while the section of plastic film is in contact with the polymer to cause bonding therebetween and thereby form the rib.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, a method of forming a pair of ribs on either side of a closure element carried by a section of plastic film includes the steps of providing a roll having a pair of grooves, extruding molten polymer into the grooves, and placing the section of plastic film in contact with the molten polymer in the grooves such that the closure element is disposed between the grooves. The molten polymer in the grooves is allowed to cool below the melting point thereof while the section of plastic film is in contact with the polymer to cause bonding therebetween and thereby form the ribs.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, an apparatus for forming a rib on a section of plastic film includes a roll having a groove and an extrusion die for extruding molten polymer into the groove. A positioning system places the section of plastic film in contact with the molten polymer in the groove such that the molten polymer in the groove is allowed to cool below the melting point thereof while the section of plastic film is in contact with the polymer to cause bonding therebetween and thereby form the rib.
Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description.
Referring to
Referring to
The male closure element 44b comprises a base 58 integral with flanking side members 54 and 56 and an arrow-shaped engagement member 60 that extends from the base 58. The female element 44a comprises a base 62 with a C-shaped profile member 64 extending therefrom, wherein the female element 44a is adapted to receive the male element 44b when pressure is exerted on the closure elements by a user's finger(s) during closing of the bag. The side members 54 and 56 are of a sufficient size and proximity to the engagement member 60 such that the side members 54 and 56 move together with the member 60 when the members 60 and 64 are engaged and disengaged. The side members 54 and 56 also have a height which is less than the height of the engagement member 60, and the members 54 and 56 extend beyond tips 68 of the female profile member 64 when the engagement member 60 is engaged with the female profile member 64. Thus, at such time, the tips 68 of the female profile member 64 reside between the side members 54 and 56 and the male engagement member 60.
In a preferred embodiment, the guide ribs 50a, 50b are of the same height and such height is greater than the height of the female profile member 64. The guide ribs 50a, 50b can have any suitable cross-sectional configuration, such an inverted T-shape, as seen in
If desired, a number of guide rib(s) 50 other than two may be provided. In the event that two or more guide ribs are provided, the guide ribs 50 may all have the same cross-sectional shapes and dimensions, or the cross-sectional shapes and/or dimensions may be different. The guide rib(s) 50 may be present in various different arrangements. Thus, for example, as seen in
Other various configurations of guide ribs can be seen in
Still more configurations of guide ribs are shown in
Preferably, although not necessarily, if two guide ribs 50 are positioned adjacent a closure element 44a or 44b, the guide ribs 50 may be spaced equidistant from and on opposite sides of the closure element. Also, if a single rib 50 is positioned on the inside surface 48 adjacent the male closure element 44b and a second single rib 50 is positioned on the opposite inside surface 46 adjacent the female closure element 44a, the guide ribs 50 are preferably (although not necessarily) disposed on opposite sides of the closure elements 44a, 44b and equidistant therefrom.
No matter what configuration is chosen, the guide rib(s) 50 provide raised portions that can be felt by a user's fingers when the user's fingers are brought into contact with one or both external surfaces 70, 72 of the bag walls 26, 28. The raised portion(s) act as a guide for a user's fingers to facilitate the engagement of the male and female closure elements 44a and 44b, and thus sealing of the bag 20.
If desired, one or more gripping ribs 74 may be disposed on the internal surfaces 46, 48 of the bag 20 between the closure elements 44a and 44b and the top portion 36 of the bag 20, wherein the gripping ribs 74 are integrally extruded with the walls of the bag. Any number of gripping ribs 74 can be used, although space is necessary between adjacent ribs in order to facilitate a gripping action with a user's fingers. In a preferred embodiment, about six or seven gripping ribs 74 are disposed on each lip 40 of the bag.
According to an alternate embodiment, one or more intermittent ribs may be provided, as opposed to the continuous ribs 50a–50n described above.
Yet another embodiment as shown in
Reclosable thermoplastic storage bags as described herein can be produced by any conventional bag-making process, such as a cast post applied process, a cast integral process, a blown process or any other process known in the art. Alternatively, any one of the processes implemented by the apparatus shown in
If the female and male closure elements 44a, 44b are to be added to a section of film subsequent to the formation of one or more guide ribs 50 thereon, an apparatus as seen in
In an alternative embodiment, the outlet orifices 169,171 have cross-sectional shapes that are substantially different than the cross-sectional shapes of the grooves 173, 174. For example, the outlet orifices 169,171 may have a circular shape while the grooves 173, 174 may be triangular in cross-section.
The method includes the steps of feeding molten polymer to extrusion profile die 166 by way of an extruder or melt pump and extruding molten polymer into the grooves 173, 174 of the rotating first roll 160 at an extrusion rate that ensures that the grooves 173, 174 are filled with molten polymer. Thereafter, the air nozzle 168 directs an air flow onto the molten polymer before it is deposited in the grooves 173, 174.
If desired, a different fluid may be directed against the molten polymer in the grooves 173, 174. Also, the single air nozzle 168 may be replaced by two air nozzles wherein each air nozzle directs air against molten polymer in an associated groove 173, 174. Still further, it is possible to eliminate the air nozzle 168 from this process; however, this may require greater positioning accuracy so that the extrudate falls exactly into the grooves 173, 174.
The method further includes the step of moving a section of plastic film 172 over the rotating second roll 162 toward the first roll 160 and into contact with the molten polymer in the grooves 173, 174. Thereafter, the section of plastic film 172 is drawn around a predetermined angular extent of the first roll 160, for example, one half to three quarters of the entire angular extent of the first roll 160. It is also preferred that the first roll 160 be chilled, preferably by passing water therethrough to facilitate bonding of the ribs to the film 172. As should be evident, the larger the diameter of the roll 160, the more cooling can be imparted to the ribs. If desired, water, air or another coolant can be directed against the outer surface of the film section 172 as the film 172 and ribs 50 are moving about the first roll 160 to aid further in cooling of the ribs.
Again, if the female and male closure elements 44a, 44b are added to the film in a step subsequent to the step of adding or forming guide ribs 50, another method implemented by the apparatus shown in
If the female and male closure elements 44a, 44b have already been applied to the film section 172, the embodiment of
If the female and male closure elements 44a, 44b have already been applied to the film section 172, the first roll 160 can include first and second additional grooves 182a, 182b, as seen in
As a still further alternative, where the ribs are to be applied to a side of the plastic film 172 opposite to the side that carries the female and male closure elements 44a, 44b, grooves may be provided in the first roll 160 and the second roll 162 (or the rolls 164 and/or 176, if used), as shown in
If desired, any or all of the rolls 162, 164 and 176 may be made of rubber or another deformable material that assists in applying pressure to the film while minimizing permanent deformation of the rib(s) and/or closure elements 44a, 44b.
If desired, the apparatus of
As should be evident from the foregoing, the bag of
The bag described herein advantageously includes at least on guide surface that guides a user's fingers during closure of the bag. Thus, closing efficiency is increased and the expenditure of wasted effort by the user is minimized.
Further, the apparatus and method described herein extrude polymer from a profile die into grooves on a first grooved and cooled roller to create ribs. The still molten ribs are combined with a film and cooled as it rotates around the grooved roller. The use of grooves in the first roller to create the ribs allows the ribs to have a uniform size and shape, whereas, when molten polymer is extruded directly onto a film to create ribs, the ribs may deform or spread out.
The method described herein also has the advantage of being a continuous process that has relatively high production rates of up to or greater than 300 feet per minute. Other similar processes cannot reach such production levels because the time necessary to cool the ribs and film is longer.
Numerous modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the foregoing description. Accordingly, this description is to be construed as illustrative only and is presented for the purpose of enabling those skilled in the art to make and use the invention and to teach the best mode of carrying out same. The exclusive rights to all modifications which come within the scope of the appended claims are reserved.
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Executed on | Assignor | Assignee | Conveyance | Frame | Reel | Doc |
Jun 27 2002 | S.C. Johnson Home Storage, Inc. | (assignment on the face of the patent) | / | |||
Aug 16 2002 | PAWLOSKI, JAMES C | S C JOHNSON HOME STORAGE, INC | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 017019 | /0174 |
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